"Da Vinci's Demons" Episode 3 "The Prisoner" Starz TV series, review, no spoilers

A great episode this week.
Our hero often looks like he is battling ADHD, but then so does Johnny Lee Miller in "Elementary".
Leo, in much of the series, is either drugged or drunk - dealing with his 'demons'. And we had quite a few demons in this episode - either real or imagined.
Da Vinci finds an ally in the usually incompetent Giulino Medici (Tom Bateman). Who knew? Loved the possessed nuns (very Ken Russell's "The Devils", 1971). The atmospheric abbey was quite Hammer Horror. More please. We had Leo solving the mystery of the wacky nuns while our favourite villain, Riario (Blake Ritson) talks strategies with the mysterious prisoner. Their board game of black and white pieces looks like the ancient Asian game of Go.
This game is played throughout the episode, parallelling the machinations occurring in Florence. A clever touch, Mr Goyer. As well as the motif of the caged parrot, who can escape but does not.
More furious bird sketching in the marketplace (such a great scene in Episode 1). The brief shot of sunrise over Florence was glorious.
Clarice Orsini (the very busy Lara Pulver - the lovely Irene Adler in "Sherlock", also in "Spooks" and "True Blood" - all great shows) proves herself to be no fool. Beware, Lucrezia.
Liked the blindman's quality control in the arms factory, Leo's spontaneous painting-licking and the frenzied bonking among the Medici horses (a stable relationship between Lorenzo and his filly???).
Leo's feverish nightmares were particularly graphic this week - reanimated corpses, scalpels and ripping apart chest cavities.
I assume we will see more of Riario's Abyssinian slave (if the naughty pope doesn't monopolise her time).

"They Might Be Giants" - Sherlock and a female Watson but not Lucy Liu!

Back in 1971 a little gem of a film was released with very little acclaim, They Might Be Giants.  It must have struck a chord with the 80's alternative band of the same name.
Set in present day New York City, the plot concerned a deranged "Sherlock Holmes" (George C. Scott) and his sidekick, Dr Mildred Watson (Joanne Woodard was actually his psychiatrist).
Fast forward to 2012 - the hit TV series Elementary.

Ring any bells?

A manic Sherlock Holmes.....TICK
A caring female doctor sidekick with unresolved sexual tension in plot.....TICK
Set in present day N.Y.C. .....TICK

Stephen King wrote in Danse Macabre that there are basically only seven stories in writing. Interesting idea.

Note
They Might Be Giants hasn't been on free-to-air television in Australia for decades. You can catch it (in 9X10 minute parts) on Youtube. Great supporting cast: Jack Gilford, Rue McClanahan, Al Lewis (remember The Munsters), F. Murray Abraham. Written by James Goldman. John Barry's rich score is particularly poignant.

New stuff on TV, brief reviews

• Please Like Me Who knew Josh Thomas could act? Bittersweet, endearing, naturally funny. Thomas is a self-deprecating writer/comedian. Well directed, talented cast of old pros and new faces. This show is a winner. ABC 2 Thursday 9:30. It puzzles me why ABC put on double episodes on the first night. Hope it builds an audience. Perhaps ABC 1 will repeat it.
• New Qi Series 11 "J" - why doesn't ABC play the 45 minute (XL) episodes?
• Another ABC grizzle ... bring back Friday Night Dinner! You dropped it after 3 episodes on a Friday night for more Qi repeats. Some are 7 years old! ABC's answer to Big Bang Theory/2 and a Half Men overuse.
• Ripper Street (BBC produced for first 2 seasons) - set 6 months after Jack the Ripper murders. Great characters beautiful art direction. Classy and strangely informative. Update: Series 3, Amazon is now producing. Bigger budget, great characters, intriguing situations, set 4 years later.
• Banshee (FX) a "guilty pleasure" series - Peyton Place meets Billy Jack meets Witness with a sprinkling of Twin Peaks. Silly but fun. Produced by Alan (6 Feet Under, True Blood) Ball. 
• American Horror - Asylum (Eleven) Glee creators /writers but galaxies away .... oh, it does have aliens...and Nazis doctors....and crusading lesbian journalists.....and possessed nuns ....and Jessica Lange doing a 60's dance number ....and the kitchen sink. Stylish direction and buckets of blood. You have been warned. Guilty pleasure No 2. Watch all 13 episodes with the lights off and your brain in Neutral.
• The Following (Nine). Pilot was great. Think Seven/Silence of the Lambs I had to look away once. Kevin Bacon is great. Written by Scream's Kevin Williamson. Beware commercials and late night programming because of gore. Gets a bit repetitive, who is NOT in this serial killer cult, but Episode 6 was a knockout. Stick with it, but I prefer Banshee.
• Elementary (Ten). We have watched 12 episodes and haven't tied of it, quality is consistent. Inventive scripts. I have no time for US rip-offs of UK shows, BUT THIS WORKS. Remember Johnny Lee Miller from Trainspotting? Trivia: both Miller and Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock) played Frankenstein/the Creature in Danny Boyle's stage production last year.They used to swap roles each night.
• Parade's End Nine has bought it because of Benedict Cumberbatch and to get some Downton Abbey like ratings but they will murder it with commercials. Gorgeous to look at, but a trifle slow for Nine viewers. That sounded snobby.... tough.